Absolutely. Cost-shifting is why philosophical discussions about whether the US should have private insurance or socialized medicine (or even some hybrid) are pointless. Our society has long since decided that doctors shouldn't let people die in the gutter and that they shouldn't be then themselves forced into poverty for serving society's will. So everyone who pays, whenever they pay, pays more to cover the rest.
So the whole question of whether we should pay is a charade. We do pay and if Americans were remotely willing to let people die in the gutter, there would already be people dying in the gutter.
People might as well be arguing about whether or not we ought to live on Mars next year. [2]
[1] Many young people in the US spend significant amounts of time uninsured. Many families will also fall in and out of coverage as household members switch jobs, as marital statuses change, etc. Most of us make largely the same decisions, but by dumb luck alone some will acquire an illness or be involved in an accident during a period of non-coverage and be, if not bankrupted outright, seriously financially penalized for the grand sin of having only been as conservative and careful as everyone else.
[2] Which is to say: a question that isn't wrong to discuss, but one that's irrelevant to any practical discussion about housing costs.
So the whole question of whether we should pay is a charade. We do pay and if Americans were remotely willing to let people die in the gutter, there would already be people dying in the gutter.
People might as well be arguing about whether or not we ought to live on Mars next year. [2]
[1] Many young people in the US spend significant amounts of time uninsured. Many families will also fall in and out of coverage as household members switch jobs, as marital statuses change, etc. Most of us make largely the same decisions, but by dumb luck alone some will acquire an illness or be involved in an accident during a period of non-coverage and be, if not bankrupted outright, seriously financially penalized for the grand sin of having only been as conservative and careful as everyone else.
[2] Which is to say: a question that isn't wrong to discuss, but one that's irrelevant to any practical discussion about housing costs.